Read about my adventure in building replica droids from the Star Wars Saga.

Monday, October 26, 2009

Shoulder Bones

I didn't get as much done today as I wanted to, but even a little is more done than before.

Before I get started on what I did today, I have decided that R6-C9 will not sport the 2-3-2 leg transition system. I made this decision because I'm worried about the stress to the wood frame, the cost of all the mechanical parts, and because I'd rather focus on just getting the droid built. I'll probably make a 2nd droid and maybe with that one I will put in the 2-3-2. Right now, let's keep it simple for the rookie ;P

Today I focused on the Shoulder Flanges. I mentioned in the last post that I made the flanges too big, so today I corrected that by trimming the flanges down to the correct size. Remember, if you make a mistake, make it too big.

Look closely and you can see the drawn circle. This marks how big the flange should be, 6-1/4in diameter.

The back side of one of the legs. I drew the 6-1/4" circle to show where the flange would be and the smaller circle is a 4" circle that needs to be cutout. Not sure how I will do that.

The version 2 flange in position.

All these parts are for connecting the flange to the shoulder and for connecting the pipe that will join both legs together. This pipe will be running through the body.

I am using instructions from another droid builder name Victor who also has a blog detailing how he built his first R2-D2 from start to never-will-be-officially-done (you'll always be making improvements). He has some great insight (mainly from learning the hard way) on getting some of the hardest stuff done. I'm using his Leg Tutorial which is based off of Mike Senna's method. I highly recommend Victor's blog over mine for better detailed guidance. His blog's address is http://vfranco.blogspot.com/.

Where the six lines meet the drawn circle is the drilling point.

Drilling the mounting holes for the flange to the leg's shoulder.

Inserting the bolts. Using 6 5/16in x 2in hex bolt with 1/2in head and washer.

Those are "T-Nuts" the bolts are screwed into. The T-Nuts are pulled into the wood as you tighten the bolts. This way you can undo the bolts and re-insert the bolts without losing a secure fit. This idea comes from Mike Senna: Droid Master.

Sadly, one of the T-Nuts's teeth bent while I was inserting it and now is won't come off the bolt. Not sude what to do about this without damaging the flange and leg. Stay tuned to see how Droid-Boy gets out of this mess, same droid time, same droid channel.